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Thoughts on bringing the "Dangerous" back into Elite

It’s a very exciting time to be part of the Elite Dangerous galaxy. On June 27 we will welcome even more Commanders to the galaxy with the PlayStation 4 launch. These new players will join the ranks of our already incredibly active, passionate and dedicated community.

Since the launch of Elite Dangerous: The Commanders a number of weeks ago, we’ve received messages from members of the community eagerly awaiting details about the 2.4 update and the future of the game. I’m pleased to be able to share with you a little more detail on what’s to come in the short term and slightly longer term with Elite Dangerous.

2.3.10

The first thing I’d like to share with you is that we will be adding another point update on June 27, this will be for all platforms and will include a number of bug fixes, and stability and networking improvements. This includes the much-requested Anaconda cockpit appearance change and will also introduce greater security for multicrew hosts to be able to disable or limit crew members’ specific activity.

One large element of this point update is a number of “under the hood” fixes which are designed to improve stability and performance, particularly on planet surfaces. This means that we will be looking to run a beta for 2.3.10. However, we do understand that with this being a point update with a number of less visible improvements, it won’t have as many new features to play test. Nonetheless, this testing is very important to make sure the game works as we would expect. Due to the wider and more global nature of this small point update, we will be making the beta open for all and we would welcome your support in joining and spending a few hours playing and helping to ensure the update is as good and stable as it can be.

We’ll have more details on the beta, and exactly how it will work shortly.

2.4 – “????”

Back at EGX in 2015 we showcased the headline features that would be coming to Horizons. However, there’s always been an extra little update, a mystery if you will, that has yet to be revealed.

We’ll be providing a little more information about the update to the community and the press during E3 on June 12th and 13th. We’ll be hosting special community livestreams and activity so stay tuned for more news and updates as we get closer to the date.

I can, however, tell you that this update will be slightly different to previous ones - content will be revealed over time rather than all being available on day one. Additional pieces of exciting content will surface over the coming months as the narrative progresses.

Beyond

So with the Horizon season of expansions coming to a close, what is beyond 2.4 I hear you ask? Well, it certainly isn’t the end of this amazing journey… we’re only just getting started!

Our awesome dev team are dedicated to continuing to build and improve the Elite Dangerous experience with an exciting long term vision in mind. We’re happy to be able to confirm that the next major updates following 2.4 will focus on core gameplay, existing features, quality of life and other improvements! We’re delighted to be investing a considerable amount of development and effort into making the core gameplay experience even better for our fantastic community or players.

We’ll be sharing more news on that content and our roadmap at a very special event coming later in the year - more details on this event will be released in the weeks after E3.

On behalf of the entire Elite Dangerous team, thank you for your continued support. We are very excited to embark on the next part of the journey together as we continue to make Elite Dangerous an even more fantastic game and experience for our incredible community of players.

Hi everyone,
I have not used the forum before so please let me know if I am doing this in the right thread at the right spot to get a good discussion going, feedback from Fronties Devs. If there is an existing roadmapt or collection of gameplay concepts currently actively being investigated- please point me to it. First of all I am a big space game fan since the 90s and I do like Elite (logged over 1,600 hours now) so these are some honest thoughts about improving the experience. Let me get straight to the point:
In my mind "Dangerous" -> Excitement -> GamePlay. Since me and many other players dont feel very excited or in Danger when playing Elite anymore, I would venture to say its do to the lack of engaging Gameplay. 3 Pillars on how to address this
Normal Space, Wing Play (multiplayer), Missions
Let me Explain:
Normal Space
Spending Life in frame shift land is convenient to travel quicky but dull when it comes to engaging game experience. Building a scenario around being interdicted and then shot at is just to one dimensional. So, we need more scenarios in Normal Space- an example with the return in mind: Lets say a station within a star system gets blockaded, effect: when attempting to FSD to the station you get pulled out of FSD far away from the station -> 100- 150kms. This would create a playground in normal space of say 15-20 minutes time to travel from where you dropped out of FSD to the station if uninterrupted. This space could be filled with: passive defenses (mines, gun emplacements, sensors, buff waypoints [regenerate shields, armor]), active defenses (thargoid ships trying to keep you from reaching the station)
Wing Play
specific modules with multiplayer in mind
in order to make wing play interesting it would be helpful to create very specific modules that take up most of the space within a given ship and make it necessary to work in a group: A few examples:
- very long range sensors: ~100 kms, requires above described large playgrounds in normal space that cannot be short cutted through FSD. AWACs style craft that can identify all waypoints, enemy targets over a long distance and notify everyone else in the wing (maybe even designate targets and paint them for all other wing members)
- Shield Booster: ability to project a larger shield around a group of ships flying in very tight formation. Needs a partner ship to complete the arch (at least 2 ships in the wing must have this module). This field can get whittled down over time maybe requires specific weapons to do so, maybe the field could protect against thargoid mines or other such assets in the new large playgrounds in normal space
super stealth: sacrifices all other modules (weapons, shields for permanent very low heat signature state). Could be used to scout ahead and quietly maneuver through mine fields enemy lines to sabotage specific new defense grids. Very effective for smaller vessells that already have a low heat signature

group finder
there will have to be a group finder function to basically look for a wing based on your ships role equipment (not a hard dependency but would be useful to share what you can bring to the table in terms of special modulues configs)

my targets target button
In order to really perform tactical combat one not only needs a " what target is my wingman attacking button" but a "who is attacking my wingman/ friendly NPC button" or as it is known in many other MMOs: my targets target button (independent of it being a wingman or not)

Hi everyone,
I have not used the forum before so please let me know if I am doing this in the right thread at the right spot to get a good discussion going, feedback from Fronties Devs. If there is an existing roadmapt or collection of gameplay concepts currently actively being investigated- please point me to it. First of all I am a big space game fan since the 90s and I do like Elite (logged over 1,600 hours now) so these are some honest thoughts about improving the experience. Let me get straight to the point:
In my mind "Dangerous" -> Excitement -> GamePlay. Since me and many other players dont feel very excited or in Danger when playing Elite anymore, I would venture to say its do to the lack of engaging Gameplay. 3 Pillars on how to address this
Normal Space, Wing Play (multiplayer), Missions
Let me Explain:
Normal Space
Spending Life in frame shift land is convenient to travel quicky but dull when it comes to engaging game experience. Building a scenario around being interdicted and then shot at is just to one dimensional. So, we need more scenarios in Normal Space- an example with the return in mind: Lets say a station within a star system gets blockaded, effect: when attempting to FSD to the station you get pulled out of FSD far away from the station -> 100- 150kms. This would create a playground in normal space of say 15-20 minutes time to travel from where you dropped out of FSD to the station if uninterrupted. This space could be filled with: passive defenses (mines, gun emplacements, sensors, buff waypoints [regenerate shields, armor]), active defenses (thargoid ships trying to keep you from reaching the station)
Wing Play
specific modules with multiplayer in mind
in order to make wing play interesting it would be helpful to create very specific modules that take up most of the space within a given ship and make it necessary to work in a group: A few examples:
- very long range sensors: ~100 kms, requires above described large playgrounds in normal space that cannot be short cutted through FSD. AWACs style craft that can identify all waypoints, enemy targets over a long distance and notify everyone else in the wing (maybe even designate targets and paint them for all other wing members)
- Shield Booster: ability to project a larger shield around a group of ships flying in very tight formation. Needs a partner ship to complete the arch (at least 2 ships in the wing must have this module). This field can get whittled down over time maybe requires specific weapons to do so, maybe the field could protect against thargoid mines or other such assets in the new large playgrounds in normal space
super stealth: sacrifices all other modules (weapons, shields for permanent very low heat signature state). Could be used to scout ahead and quietly maneuver through mine fields enemy lines to sabotage specific new defense grids. Very effective for smaller vessells that already have a low heat signature

group finder
there will have to be a group finder function to basically look for a wing based on your ships role equipment (not a hard dependency but would be useful to share what you can bring to the table in terms of special modulues configs)

my targets target button
In order to really perform tactical combat one not only needs a " what target is my wingman attacking button" but a "who is attacking my wingman/ friendly NPC button" or as it is known in many other MMOs: my targets target button (independent of it being a wingman or not)

Those combat scenarios are the kind of thing I've been hoping would appear for years. They could be leveraged for missions, Powerplay Tasks and indeed CGs.

They would help PvE and also give the possibility to be used to orchestrate PvP for those interested. eg: A Wing of CMDRs defending a convoy/ship/location, while another Wing of CMDRs attacks.

And of course, many of them could probably be rebadged to be applied to the Thargoids. eg: Defending a convoy of passenger ships fleeing a system.

Alas, over the past 2-3 years we've had basically no development of this nature And why we've had developments like Mulit-Crew in its place I don't know

Whaaaaat? You wish for content that does not primarily consist of undocking, cruising through a multitude of loading screens and through supercruise a lot and finally docking again?!

How could you! This is not in Elite's 30 year+ legacy (just like guilds, competent social and communication features, competent PvE game design and more useful and elaborate scanning mechanics than pointing and holding a trigger for 15 seconds to get... nearly no useful info at all)! It's unnatural! It's not realistic! It's not sumulation! It does not fit into a universe with realistic ship and module transfer loading times enjoyed and fiercly defended by enthusiastic pretend space people in their mancaves.

You instant gratification kiddie, you. Next you're telling me that 15 minutes to half an hour of loading screens to get to any sort of content is not a reasonable free time proposition and Frontier might do well to take a hard look at how basic travel is designed and how much loading screens you should shove down your players' throats between them and getting to play the bits that make a game. That is, if they want the game to get out of the mancave pretend space person niche it currently comfortbably sits in?

On a less cynical note: I'd highly welcome structured mission content that does not play out in supercruise and in loading screens for 80% of the time. Elite's strength for me is the normal flight model. Pity the game puts emphasis on everything, except for that flight model with its missions. There's still RES bounty hunting an CZ. But both are as structured and well designed as a pub brawl in endlessly spawning pretend space ships, so...

For obvious reasons I think it would be tricky.. (personally I'd love to see stations being destroyed, stored ships being lost, and all the carnage that entails. I want to watch the Galaxy burn... but I know others would lose their minds)

I'd be happy if we can 'defend the bubble'. Thargoid attacks can happen anywhere, but if enough of them are destroyed in a system, the attack rate drops and that system becomes safe again for traders, passenger ships, newbies etc. For a while...

If a system is attacked and we don't fight back, the stations can be damaged and most services cease - bar the Shipyard so Cmdrs can get their ships out of there. We 'lose' the system.

Yes please. Some really great ideas in that post. We desperately need the dull placeholder content to be fleshed out with things like this already. I'm happy for core game changes to be up next - I just wish it could have happened sooner.

I really hope the changes are deep and significant, and not like the "improvements" we've gotten so far (ie improving missions by randomly chaining together the same tired missions we've always had, or improving salvage by making it legal and adding a trivial UI change.)

The denial of an announcement relating to a rumour of an announcement based on an announcement that any rumours were not actually announcements but rumours based on unsubstantiated allegations of a supposed announcement of a release that may happen sometime in the near future. Date unknown-uncertain.
Possibly.